The Steve McQueen-directed “Lovers Rock” has been announced as the opening night film of the 58th New York Film Festival where the movie will have its world premiere.
The feature tells a fictional story of young love and music at a blues party in the early 1980s, with Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn and Micheal Ward starring. The film is part of McQueen’s ‘Small Axe’ anthology which consists of five original films by the director.
Two other films from the quintet, “Mangrove” and “Red, White and Blue,” will also have their world premieres as part of the NYFF’s Main Slate. “Mangrove,” about the case of the Mangrove 9 activists, stars Letitia Wright and Shaun Parkes. “Red, White and Blue” stars John Boyega in the true story tale about a man who joined the cops to change their racist attitudes from within. The first picture from that can be seen above.
Set from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s, McQueen’s films each tell a different story involving London’s West Indian community, whose lives have been shaped by their own force of will despite rampant racism and discrimination. The two others not included are titled “Alex Wheatle” and “Education”.
Previous fest openers have included the likes of “The Irishman,” “The Favourite,” “Captain Phillips,” “Life of Pi,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Chariots of Fire” and “The Social Network”. “Lovers Rock” will premiere on BBC One later this year and Amazon Prime Video in the United States.
Source: Filmlinc.org
